Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Contaminants and Stable Isotope Ratios in Pelagic Seabirds From the North Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and stable isotopes of nitrogen (delta15N) and carbon (delta13C) were determined in livers of eight seabird species (Diomedea immutabilis, D. nigripes, Fulmarus glacialis, Puffinus bulleri, P. carneipes, P. griseus, P. tenuirostris, and Fratercula corniculata) collected opportunistically from an experimental fishery in the North Pacific Ocean. Concentrations of P, P'-DDE were found in all samples but were highly variable among species, ranging over >2 orders of magnitude from 1.23 mg/kg (wet weight) in D. nigripes to 0.008 mg/kg in P. tenuirostris, whereas total PCBs ranged from 1.14 to 0.020 mg/kg in those same two species. Residues of hexachlorobenzene, trans-nonachlor, photo-mirex, mirex, beta-hexachlorocyclohexane, oxychlordane, and heptachlor expoxide were quantified at lower concentrations in all samples. There were significant positive regressions of lipid-normalized concentrations of DDE (r2 = 0.526), total PCBs (r2 = 0.566), CB-153 (r2 = 0.565), and mirex (r2 = 0.586) on the hepatic delta15N signature, indicating that trophic level accounted for approximately 50% of the variability in those contaminants among species. In some species, e.g., P. bulleri, concentrations were lower than expected based on delta15N, which was attributed to a dietary switch before sampling and therefore lack of concordance in the time scales integrated by hepatic chlorinated hydrocarbon concentrations compared with delta15N.